Standing Alone
by Saiku Tenshi
Summary: Next chapters up!! *dances* Enjoy!! What will happen after Vash and Wolfwood face against a new kind of Gung-Ho guns and come onto the porch of a girl who's has special abilities?
1. New Enemies, New Allies

*author (RCO) walks on stage * Hello Trigun fans! Welcome to the my first Trigun fic that I made before Hybrid Theory! This is practically your typical "Mary-Sue" fic, but I hope you like it! Oh, and check some of my other work! AND ONE MORE THING! I dun own the Trigun charrys (unfortunately), but I do own whatever charrys appear in this fic that aren't from Trigun. Well, enjoy my fic!!  
  
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Chapter 1: New Enemies, New Allies  
  
In the hot desert of Planet Gunsmoke, gunshots rang in the air only to never be heard by anyone. At a deserted valley, three gunmen faced off. One was wearing a long, red trench coat and has blonde spiky hair with yellow sunglasses in front of his blue-green eyes. He was none other than Vash the Stampede. His companion was wearing all black, except for his white shirt that was underneath his black sport jacket. He was Nick D. Wolfwood.  
  
The third guy was standing opposite of them. His hair was a brilliant red with a hint of orange and was short and spiked out here and there. His eyes were an emerald green and he wore red sunglasses in front of them. He was wearing a pair of dark khaki pants with a pair of black boots hidden underneath them. On top, he has a short, blue jacket on top of a military green shirt.  
  
"I don't think you are going to get anywhere from me, Vash the Stampede," the blue-jacketed enemy shouted, then shooting of a couple of bullets in the direction of Vash and Nick.  
  
Vash and Nick pressed their backs to the cliff side behind them. Vash brought up his silver .45 Colt Magnum gun to his face. Nick pulled out a few small guns from a compartment of his Cross Punisher.  
  
"Is it just me or is this guy out of his mind," Nick asked while checking his ammo supply.  
  
Vash snorted dust out of his nose from a nearby gunshot. "I think he is out of his mind."  
  
Nick shrugged, "At least its just not me."  
  
The redheaded maniac continued. "Not even your priest friend will be able to help you. And you won't be able to get away from me, Gavin Kaji, or in the Gung-Ho Guns as Pyro."  
  
Nick choked back a laugh. "Yeah, right. I think I will be able to help you, Vash."  
  
Vash smiled. "We better find a way to get away from here and get to the next town."  
  
"Right."  
  
Gavin continued to hail bullets in the general area of where Vash and Nick were.  
  
"Let's move," Vash said. He jumped sideways, shooting his guns at Gavin. Nick followed suit. Gavin started to shoot as soon as they jumped into view. Vash shot Gavin in the hand, causing Gavin to drop his gun.  
  
But using his other gun, Gavin kept shooting and shot Nick in the leg. Nick fell, yelping in pain.  
  
"Nick!" Vash yelled then shot a few more times at Gavin, landing two more shots in none vital areas. Gavin went down and stayed down.  
  
Vash hurried over to his fallen friend. "You alright, Nick?"  
  
Nick looked at Vash and sarcastically said, "I'm fine, now what do you think?"  
  
"Alright, now let's hurry and get to the next town."  
  
"Hey, Vash. What is the next town called?"  
  
Vash thought a moment, " I think its called Polaris."  
  
Vash helped Nick to his unhurt foot. Then got Nick's Cross Punisher and slowly headed for the next town.  
  
*****  
  
In the outskirts of the town Polaris, which was about two iles off, was a girl with shoulder length brown hair. Her eyes were a crystal blue and were fixated on the paper that was in front of her. Around her were easels, paints, drawings and paintings; this was her studio. She concentrated hard as she stroked the paper lightly with her pencil.  
  
Honestly, she thought, why in the world am I drawing the planet's most wanted outlaw, Vash the Stampede? Come on, Astra, you have better things to do and draw than this person.   
  
Another voice came in as she started to have a conversation in her mind. Because he was in your dream and couldn't concentrate on anything else, even when you tried.  
  
Oh, yeah, duh.  
  
Astra continued her drawing. In the background, music played on as she ignored it because of being so wrapped up into her drawing.  
  
She yawned as she realized that it was only lunchtime, so she decided to take a break. She needed to clear her head up a bit anyways; it was starting to hurt a little.  
  
Downstairs, in the kitchen of her home, Astra checked her cooler and saw that she still had some items to make a small salad. So she pulled out the vegetables and mixed them together in a bowl.  
  
After she made her salad, she walked around the house, looking at all of the pictures and eating her salad at the same time. Most of the pictures on the walls were pictures of her late parents. Some others had the whole family, some of just her and some of just her brother.  
  
Her brother. She didn't like to think about him, let alone talk about him. His name is Gavin, and he left home a month after the death of their parents, which was almost five years ago. The last she heard, he joined the Gung-Ho Guns. She didn't really like the purpose of the Gung-Ho Guns, which rumors say that it's to torment Vash the Stampede.  
  
Now, Vash the Stampede was a different story. Astra had mixed feelings when it came to taking sides with him or the world. She remembered when she was younger, that Vash was in town the same day that her mom was shopping for supplies. There were gunshots and she wanted to watch, but her mom wouldn't let her. One of the gunmen was Vash, but she didn't remember who or what the other gunmen was. Her mom tried to get into a store, but it was too crowded. And she remembered a simple phrase that came out of Vash's mouth.  
  
"Love and Peace," Astra said without thinking or even caring that she was alone in the house. She smiled at the fact that she can remember the phrase.  
  
She sighed and finished her salad. Astra climbed back up the stairs to get back to her studio and to finish her drawing. 


	2. Orders and Dreams

Hmmmm.....since no one has even left a review for this fic, I'll continue anyway. Here's chapter 2! I do not own Trigun or their char's only my chars. Have fun! Love and Peace!  
  
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Chapter 2: Orders and Dreams  
  
Back to the site of the gun battle between Gavin, and Vash and Nick, Gavin laid on the ground a bit before carefully getting up. He checked his wounds and watched them heal on their own.  
  
He stood up and brushed himself off. When he looked up, Gavin saw a figure walking towards him. The figure looked almost like Vash, but he had blue eyes and shorter and lighter blonde hair. This was Vash's twin brother, Millions Knives.  
  
Knives walked up the red-haired man. "Pyro, I'm disappointed in you. You let my brother escape!"  
  
Gavin bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Master."  
  
Knives looked at him, then did a back fist into Gavin's jaw. "Don't let it happen again, you vermin!"  
  
Gavin staggered from the blow. A red mark was starting to form on his cheek and most likely will be a bruise there later, but he wasn't worried about that.  
  
Knives continued. "They will be heading for the closest town, which is Polaris. I want you to destroy that town."  
  
"Polaris, sir," Gavin questioned, "But my sister lives near there."  
  
His master glared at him. "So?"  
  
"Well, if she is like me is some way, she will have a power and I fear that she can become stronger than me."  
  
"Hmmm." Knives thought. "Then you will talked to her and give her two options."  
  
Gavin's mouth twitched. "What is that?"  
  
Knives gave an evil smile. "Join us or be destroyed."  
  
Knives' red headed companion nodded. "Yes, sir. And for destroying the town," Gavin held up a hand a to show a fireball, "I know exactly how to destroy it."  
  
Knives smiled a bit and nodded. "And make sure the blame gets pinned on that idiotic brother of mine."  
  
Gavin nodded. "It shall be done."  
  
*****  
  
In the town of Polaris, two women sat in a bar across each other. One was short with short black hair and gray eyes; she was wearing mostly white, white skirt, shirt and cape and having dangly earrings on.  
  
Her companion was taller than she is. Her hair was brown and long and her eyes are blue. She has on a white shirt with red suspenders and a pair of reddish-brown pants. On top of all of that was a trench coat that was off-white with a green top that was around her shoulders.  
  
The woman wearing white slammed her fist onto the tabletop, making the drinks on it jump. "I can't believe that he slipped by us again!!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Senpai," the tall brunette said.  
  
"Well, he should be heading to this town, if not already here. It's the only one closest to Orion."  
  
The brunette nodded. She took a sip out of her glass.  
  
The woman in white looked at her companion. "Look, Milly. I'm sorry that I spazzed out on you again, but this is actually the third time since we started that this has happened.  
  
"That's ok, Meryl." Milly responded.  
  
Meryl looked outside and saw that it was starting to get dark.  
  
"Let's go to hotel and get some rooms. 'Kay, Milly?"  
  
*****  
  
Astra was finishing up her drawing, but it was no longer a drawing. It became a painting and one of her best works yet. She never wants to sell the painting, not even for sixty billion double dollars.  
  
She looked at her arms and sighed. You can always tell that you have a good job on a painting when you have paint all over your arms.  
  
For the painting being on small piece of paper, it was perfect. Her painting of Vash the Stampede was a lot better than what she expected. She looked over the painting once more.  
  
Astra then looked out the window and saw that it was dark. She exited the studio and went to clean herself up before going to bed.  
  
*****  
  
Astra was standing in the barren desert, alone. She was wearing what she typically wears, flared jeans with a black band around her knees and a black strip up the outer sides of her legs above the band and slits under the band and a tight-fitting, ash gray t-shirt. She looked around her trying to find which way to get back home. Astra was officially lost.  
  
She looked out in the horizon and saw a figure. It was walking in her direction. As the figure walked towards her, she realized that it was her brother.  
  
"Gavin?" Her face was one of question and confusion.  
  
Gavin walked closer. Then, he raised a hand into the air, palm up. Above his hand was a fireball.  
  
Astra looked at the fireball. "What the-?"  
  
Gavin threw the fireball at Astra.  
  
There was a bright light for a moment. Then it faded to show Astra again. This time she wasn't wearing her jeans and shirt. She was wearing a dark blue trench coat much like Vash's red one. And she also had the boots that reach up to her knees and are a light brown.  
  
She looked at herself carefully. Why am I wearing this? I am not an outlaw, like Vash.  
  
In one of her holsters was a silver gun. She pulled it out and looked at herself in the reflection. Her hair was no longer brown and past her shoulders. It was shorter and was a bright blue, it even stuck out everywhere like her brother's.  
  
She blinked a few times before there was another flash from the sun shining on the silver gun.  
  
The sun was shining bright as it shined through the window of Astra's room and on her. Astra stirred awake and saw that the sun was already up. She climbed out of bed and cleaned herself up for the day.  
  
Astra headed downstairs and went into her kitchen to have breakfast. She saw that she needed to get a few things from town, which was a few miles off. She uses her motorcycle to get there and back, but she only uses it to get supplies and food.  
  
She recalled the dream she had. It was weird as she thought about the way she looked after the first flash of light.  
  
The more she thought about it, the more it urged her to go up to her studio and draw it. Just like when she had Vash in her dream and she was trying to figure out why he was there.  
  
Hmmm.... she thought, Maybe it was.... Nah that would never happen! It was ONLY a dream after ALL!  
  
She soon forgot about her dream and headed out to her bike and headed for Polaris. 


	3. Angel in Disguise

YAY!! I got reviews!! *dances * I like reviews! It makes me feel special! And as a reward, here's the next chappy! As usual, I do not own Trigun or its charrys, only my chars. Well, enjoy and LOVE AND PEACE!!!  
  
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Chapter 3: Angel in Disguise  
  
Milly and Meryl woke up that morning to a fairly busy town. Shopkeepers sweeping and children playing in the street, the streets of Polaris were very lively. The town was filled with life.  
  
They both woke up and Milly made breakfast, which was blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. Together, they entered into the town and wandered around. They both went into a bar to see if Vash or Nick would show up, but neither of them ever did.  
  
Milly and Meryl went into a store to get a few supplies. Outside, they both heard the roar of a motorcycle. After a moment, a girl with brown hair and blue eyes entered into the store. She was wearing a pair of flared jeans with a black band at her knees, a black stripe above the band and slits under. The slits show a pair of black boots that have holsters on with a gun in each.  
  
The shopkeeper smiled. "Astra! How are you?"  
  
Astra smiled back. "I'm fine."  
  
"Any new paintings or drawings?"  
  
"Heh.a few. But nothing that I want to brag about or want to bring in town anytime soon."  
  
Astra walked through the store, grabbing a few items here and there. After Astra gathered what she needed and left, Milly and Meryl turned to the shopkeeper.  
  
"Excuse me, can you tell me about her?" Meryl asked.  
  
The shopkeeper chuckled. "Why sure. That was Astra Kaji. She lives on the outskirts of this town. Around here, she's known for making drawings and paintings of all sorts. Rarely brings them to town to show off, though. When she does, she manages to sell everyone of them that she brings in."  
  
Meryl smiled a bit. "Does she have any family, out of curiosity?"  
  
The shopkeeper's smile faded a bit. "No, not exactly. Parents died five years ago and her older brother ran off a month after that."  
  
Both of the women looked at the shopkeeper. "Oh."  
  
*****  
  
Astra roared back to her house on her motorcycle. She shut her bike off and climbed off. Grabbing her groceries, she went into her home to put them away.  
  
She pulled out some medical supplies, not even sure why she purchased them. She just felt that she'd need it later. Astra took the supplies and took them to her bathroom.  
  
*****  
  
Vash and Nick were walking, or more hobbling, in the desert. Vash was still holding Nick up because of his wound. Nick's leg still hurt as all hell and both were dehydrated.  
  
"Hey, Vash," Nick wheezed, "I don't know if I can go any further, my leg is killing me."  
  
Vash huffed as he continued to move forward with Nick. "Hang in there, Nick. We're almost there."  
  
"But you said that like an hour ago," Nick whined.  
  
Then in the distance, Vash saw a dark spot in the horizon. "Hey, look there, Nick. I think there's Polaris. I told you that we were almost there."  
  
Nick looked into the distance. "I don't know if that is a town."  
  
"Well, let's keep going and see."  
  
It took about an hour just to get to "Polaris." It was actually a lone building that was pretty big. There were lights that shown in various parts of the building.  
  
"What do you think it is," Nick asked.  
  
"I don't know," Vash started. "But let's go found out. Besides, anywhere is better than the desert."  
  
Together, they hobbled up to the door. Vash knocked on the door and waited to see if someone would come.  
  
*****  
  
Inside, Astra was working on making her supper. She was just about to take a bite out of her supper when she heard a knock on the door.  
  
Astra looked around a moment.Why would anyone be all the way out here? Astra walked to the door. She heard another knock at the door. Rolling her eyes, Astra opened the door and looked outside.  
  
Her eyes widen in surprise when she saw two dusty men outside her door. One has blonde spiky hair and was wearing a red trench coat. It's Vash the Stampede, she thought. Vash's companion was wearing all black and together, they were carrying a large cross that was now wrapped in white cloth.  
  
Vash and his companion looked up at her. His companion had a hurt look on his face and she realized that he was actually hurt. Vash gulped as he looked her up and down.  
  
"Uh," Vash said dryly. "Can we come in? He's hurt."  
  
"Sure," Astra moved away from the door to allow Vash in. "Follow me, he might be more comfortable in a bed."  
  
Vash followed, helping his friend up the stairs. They followed her and she showed them a room. Astra helped Vash get his friend into the bed.  
  
"Oh, by the way, my name is Astra Kaji. And I will be right back with some medical equipment."  
  
After Astra left, Vash turned to Nick. "Hey, Nick."  
  
"Yeah," Nick said weakly.  
  
"Wasn't the guy that was shooting at us named Kaji also?"  
  
Nick looked at him. "Yeah, I think so."  
  
Astra came back with a bag full of medical equipment. She disappeared again and came back with two glasses of water. Astra handed one to Vash.  
  
Vash took the water and took a gulp. "Ahh.thank you."  
  
Astra smiled. "No problem. And what happened to him?"  
  
Astra dug through the bag, pulling this and that as Vash explained what happened.  
  
"And his name?" She pulled on a pair of rubber gloves.  
  
"Oh, uh, Nick Wolfwood."  
  
"Ok," Astra breathed as she positioned herself where the wound was. "Nick, this might hurt a bit."  
  
She carefully moved something where Nick's leg was wounded and Nick let out a painful howl. Astra gave yet another yank and she pulled out the bullet that was actually in Nick's leg. Nick let out another scream.  
  
"There," Astra said triumphantly as she showed the bullet to Vash.  
  
"Whoa, where did you learn to do this?"  
  
Astra deposited the bullet into a trashcan. "I took a course on basic medical care in school."  
  
"Oh." Vash took another gulp of his water.  
  
Astra helped Nick to sit up and she handed him the other glass of water.  
  
"Thank you." Nick took a gulp of the water.  
  
Astra quickly worked on Nick's leg, cleaning and bandaging it. Once she was done, she took off the rubber gloves.  
  
"I suggest that you stay off that leg for a while."  
  
Nick scowled at the fact he won't be allowed to get out of bed.  
  
Then she asked, "Would you like something to eat?"  
  
Vash stood up, "Sure."  
  
Nick also said yes. Astra headed downstairs to make something.  
  
Vash followed, but lagged behind as he looked at the pictures on the wall. He saw all sorts of pictures. He saw a picture of four people. One was Astra, there were also a guy and two other people, older than her and the guy.  
  
Vash took the picture off the wall and took it over to Astra, who was busy making something for him and Nick to eat. Vash also realized that he was slightly taller than she is, and he is very tall.  
  
"Hey, Astra." Vash walked up to Astra from behind.  
  
Astra turned around and saw Vash holding one of her pictures. "Yes?"  
  
"Who are these people in this picture?"  
  
"That is.er.was my family," Astra answered.  
  
Vash nodded. "I can tell, but who is the guy with you and your parents?"  
  
"Oh," Astra looked at the picture. "That is my older brother, Gavin Kaji."  
  
Vash almost choked. "Gavin? He's your brother?"  
  
"Yeah, why?" Astra was puzzled at the way Vash was acting.  
  
"Uhh.because that was the guy that shot Nick."  
  
Astra let out a small gasped. She closed her eyes and looked away. When she finally got control of herself, she said quietly, "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's ok."  
  
Astra turned around and looked at Vash. "What did he look like? I'm curious."  
  
Vash describe what Gavin looked like as Astra stared at the picture of her brother. When he was done Astra was still quiet.  
  
"What happened to him," she finally asked to herself more than to Vash. Then she turned back to what she was making. "Oh, well. Better get back to this." 


	4. Artwork

More reviews=More chapters~~~see, very simple; lol. Here's chapter 4!! * dances* This chapter might be a bit boring, sorry if it is! ^^;;;;;; As usual and always, I do not own Trigun or it chars, only the original chars that appear. Like Astra! ^^ LOVE AND PEACE!!  
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Chapter 4: Artwork  
  
After dinner, Astra made sure that Vash and Nick were fast asleep before heading up to her studio. Nick fell asleep in her brother's room and she led Vash to her late parent's room, since the bed was long enough for him to sleep in.  
  
Once in the studio, she walked around, looking at the pictures that she made. Astra then came across to her most recent picture, the one of Vash. To her, it was a piece of art. The way she drew it was incredible.  
  
She sighed and she moved the picture out of the way. Astra grabbed another piece of paper and with the description that Vash gave her of her brother, started drawing.  
  
Astra drew her picture all through the night. She lost track of time being wrapped up in her drawing. Her drawing soon became a painting, much like her last one of Vash.  
  
She was so wrapped up in her painting that she didn't realize that both suns have already come up. Also that Vash rolled off the bed shortly after the suns were fully up, making a loud clatter downstairs.  
  
When she was done, Astra looked over her work. As she was working on the picture, she remembers the dream that she had and what Gavin had over his hand. A fireball. She had many small fireballs surrounding his picture. It gave the picture a pyro look to it.  
  
Dark rings were under her eyes as Vash started to call her name from downstairs. There was a knock at the door. She yawned and headed to answer the door. Vash was standing at her door wearing a pair of dark pants and a light shirt and his hair wasn't spiked. He blinked a few times as he saw what Astra looked like.  
  
"Whoa.did you stay up all night or something," Vash asked.  
  
Astra didn't notice it, but her hair was coming out of her ponytail. She blinked a few times and slipped out of her room, closing the door behind her.  
  
"Yeah. I was working on a painting all night and lost track of time."  
  
"Oh," Vash raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know you painted."  
  
Astra raised her arms that were splattered with red, orange, yellow, blue and green paint.  
  
"Are you going to be up to making breakfast?"  
  
Astra strolled drunkenly past Vash, not answering his question. Vash watched her and reached for the door that she just came out of.  
  
Astra looked over her shoulder. "Don't even think about going into that room. It's my studio."  
  
Vash jerked his hand away from the doorknob as though it was hot, then turned and followed Astra.  
  
In the kitchen, Astra checked to see what she could make for herself and her guests. She found some dry cereal and pulled it out.  
  
"Damn," she said. "Forgot to get some milk. I'll have to go back into Polaris and grab some."  
  
"And." Vash started.  
  
Before Vash finished, Astra butted in. "And some donuts for us."  
  
Vash had his mouth gapping open. He blinked a few times in confusion.  
  
Astra turned to him and giggled. "How did I know? I found out in a dream from a long time ago. I learn a lot from them for some reason."  
  
Vash was still confused. Astra yawned and then walked out of the kitchen.  
  
"I'm going to take a shower, then head into town for a while."  
  
Vash watched her head for the stairs.  
  
Astra called from the top of the stairs. "Don't even think about peeking on me or checking out my studio!!"  
  
Vash arched an eyebrow toward the stairs, then shrugged and headed for Nick's room.  
  
Nick was awake and turned toward Vash when he entered into the room.  
  
"Morning, Vash," Nick greeted Vash.  
  
"Hey, man. How's your leg feeling?"  
  
Nick sat up. "It's feeling better. What's for breakfast?"  
  
Vash sat on the bed. "Astra's taking a shower, then heading for town to grab some milk and donuts."  
  
"Ah.the typical breakfast, lunch and dinner for you, except for the milk."  
  
They both laughed. Vash heard the hushed roar of the shower that Astra was taking.  
  
As their laughter died off, both men thought of the same thing.  
  
I wonder what the girls are up too.  
  
*****  
  
Astra yawned again as she got out of her shower. I deserve it for not going to bed.  
  
Like before, another voice joined the conversation. Yeah, yeah. You just HAD to draw your brother.  
  
I don't think he is my brother anymore.  
  
She left the bathroom and she went to her bedroom to change for the day. Astra grabbed a pair of flared jeans that have a black band around her knees and up above the knee and splits below her knees. She found her ash gray tight t-shirt and pulled it on. Slipping her feet into her black boots, she left her room.  
  
Astra walked by Nick's room and popped her head into the room. Seeing that Vash was with Nick, she asked if Nick was ok. Nick said that he was fine.  
  
"Oh, good. I'm going to go finish and go to Polaris. I'll be back in about a half an hour."  
  
Vash shook his head and Astra left the room.  
  
Once Astra roared away towards town on her motorcycle. Vash exited Nick's room. He stopped in front of the door that Astra came out of this morning.  
  
He paced in front of the door for minutes before deciding to go in anyway. Opening the door, Vash saw a flight of stairs he had to climb, so he ascended the stairs that lead to Astra's studio.  
  
When he reached the top, he was amazed at what he saw. There were paintings and drawings of all sorts. Most of them looked very unreal and as though they were in a fantasy of some sort. He walked around the room and came across the picture that was placed on the right side of the desk. It was of him. Vash picked up the picture and was surprised at how well, she drew and painted it.  
  
Placing the picture back down, Vash saw the picture that she has done recently, the one of her brother. It still looked a bit wet so he didn't pick it up. He was amazed at how well she drew it with only a description of her brother.  
  
Vash turned away from the desk and walked back out of the studio, going down the stairs.  
  
Wow, he thought, she has talent. I wonder how she was able to do some of those pictures. 


	5. Breakfast

Here you go! Chapter 5, hot off the presses, so to speak. ^^ Typically, I do not Trigun but my own chars. Enjoy!! Keep the reviews coming! And you're welcome Ghosts-girl23, keep it up!!  
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Chapter 5: Breakfast  
  
In town, Astra roared up to a restaurant that also was a small convenient store. Milly and Meryl were sitting at a table having breakfast.  
  
Astra strolled into the restaurant and went up to the bar.  
  
"I want a dozen donuts, a cup of coffee with 4 sugars and a half gallon of milk, please," Astra ordered to the bartender.  
  
"Yes, ma'am," The bartender disappeared into the back.  
  
Astra sat back into a stool as the bartender came out and gave her coffee. He disappeared into the back again, saying that the donuts will be ready in 15-20 minutes. She shook her head and stirred her coffee.  
  
Meryl recognized her from yesterday and she and Milly walked over and sat on either side of Astra.  
  
" What do you want," Astra asked without even moving.  
  
Meryl spoke, "Do you know anything about the whereabouts of Vash the Stampede?"  
  
Astra turned her head and faced Meryl. "Why," she asked, not trusting these people at all. "Are you a bounty hunter?"  
  
"No," Meryl said, "We're friends of his. And we are agents for the Bernadelli Insurance agency."  
  
"Oh." Astra was still skeptical.  
  
Then Milly spoke up. " And there was someone else with him. His name is Nick D. Wolfwood."  
  
Astra's breath was caught in her throat. She looked around the restaurant, then beckoned Milly and Meryl closer. As she spoke, her voice was a whisper.  
  
"I do know where both of them are."  
  
Meryl whispered back. "Where?"  
  
Astra answered. "Both are at my house at the outskirts of this town. You can get there easily. Come down this afternoon. You might have to stay at the house for a while."  
  
Milly tilted her head to the side. "Why?"  
  
"Because Nick D. Wolfwood got shot in the leg before they got to my house. But he'll be okay, I took care of it."  
  
Milly gasped.  
  
Meryl then said, "We'll be there this afternoon."  
  
"Alright," Astra whispered simply.  
  
Milly and Meryl left the saloon after that.  
  
Astra turned her attention back to her coffee, taking a sip out of it.  
  
Behind her, a man came into the saloon. He has red-orange that that stuck out everywhere above his ears. His eyes were emerald-green that were behind red sunglasses. His clothes were dusty. He wore a pair of dark khakis and a military green shirt. The man slung his blue jacket over his shoulder. This was Gavin Kaji.  
  
Gavin walked over to the bar and sat a couple of stools away from Astra. He side-glanced at Astra as the bartender took his order. He reached a hand over and tapped Astra's shoulder after the bartender left the bar.  
  
Astra turned and faced Gavin. She gasped in surprise. "Gavin."  
  
Gavin looked at his little sister for the first time in five years. "I want to talk to you."  
  
The bartender appeared and came out with Astra's box of donuts and the half-gallon of milk. Astra paid for her bill and turned her attention back to her brother.  
  
"What are you doing here," she asked.  
  
"I came to talk to you."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"What's going to happen to you soon," Gavin stated.  
  
"You mean...about."  
  
"Your power, yes. I want you to join the Gung-ho Guns, once you get your power, of course."  
  
Astra blinked a few times. "Oh, is that what you want me for? My power?"  
  
Before Gavin could answer, she answered his question. "I'm not joining."  
  
Gavin looked at her, baffled. "Why not?"  
  
"Because I don't want to and I don't like the purpose of them."  
  
A disappointed look was shown on Gavin's face. Then he said, "Lemme tell you something about us."  
  
Astra glared at him. "What about us?"  
  
"You see," Gavin started, "We're not exactly human."  
  
She interrupted. "I can figure that, especially with our powers."  
  
He ignored her. "We are actually what are called Elements. People who are able to become and control a certain element and have a few other powers. I have the element of fire."  
  
She shook her head. "So?"  
  
Gavin continued. "We don't get our power when we are born, obviously. But when we do develop our powers, a change happens in some way, shape or form, whether it be hair color, skin, or body structure."  
  
"Oh, is that all?" Astra stood.  
  
He shook his head. "That's about it. And," he placed a hand on her shoulder as she turned to leave, "please reconsider my offer of joining."  
  
She shook his hand off and walked out of the restaurant. She quickly left and chucked her empty coffee cup away. She hurried back to the house on her motorcycle.  
  
*****  
  
Vash was lost as he pawed through Astra's kitchen for something to eat. He was about to open the last cabinet when he heard Astra's motorcycle pull up.  
  
His eyes widened. "DONUTS ARE HERE!!"  
  
He dashed from the kitchen, chanting that the donuts are here. Practically breaking through the front door, he surprised Astra with his loud antics.  
  
Astra had to fight her way to get the donuts and the milk into the house in one piece. She was successful and she took glasses, the milk and the partially destroyed box of donuts up to Nick's room.  
  
When she entered the room, Nick was smoking. Rolling her eyes, Astra walked over to the window and opened it. Nick took a donut as Vash took three. Astra came back from the window and took a donut, started to eat it and poured herself a glass of milk. As she was eating her donut, she walked over to examine Nick's leg.  
  
"I met someone that was looking for you in town," Astra said as she left the room to get the medical supplies.  
  
"Who." Nick and Vash asked, curious.  
  
"I didn't catch their names." Astra came back into the room, setting her glass down. "But one was a tall, brown-haired girl and the other was."  
  
"Short, dark hair, and kinda bitchy," Vash interrupted.  
  
Astra chuckled. "Yeah, you know them?"  
  
Nick and Vash both nodded their heads. Vash spoke, "They're Milly and Meryl. Two insurance agents who are supposed to make sure I don't cause any damage."  
  
"Ok, I'm not even going to comment there," Astra said. "Well, they are coming this afternoon."  
  
"Oh, great," Vash breathed.  
  
Astra cleaned and re-bandaged Nick's leg. She left Nick and Vash and started to pick up the place before their friends came. 


	6. Joyous Reuninon

YAY!!! Here's the next chapter! I hope you all enjoying this fic! Keep those reviews coming! I love reviews!! It makes me feel special!  
Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, only the chars that aren't in the show originally.  
  
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Chapter 6: Joyous Reunion  
  
Gavin was still in the restaurant when Knives and his right-hand man, the blue-haired Legato Bluesummers, entered the restaurant. Behind them, a purple-haired girl followed but sat at a table.  
  
"You let her get away," Knives stated angrily.  
  
Gavin sipped his drink and set it down at the bar. "Don't worry, Master. This town shall be destroyed by morning. She will have no choice but to move on and leave her place. Then I'll get her to join us."  
  
"Good, the less humans the better this planet will be."  
  
Knives, Legato and the purple-hair girl left the restaurant.  
  
"Master," Legato said. "Shall I keep an eye on him and make sure he does his job."  
  
Knives nodded his head. "Yes, but you won't be alone."  
  
"I won't?"  
  
"No, Antan shall accompany you." He gestured to the purple-haired girl that was following them. She had on a trench coat and brown boots.  
  
"Antan, this is Legato Bluesummers. You will be accompany him in keeping an eye on Pyro," Knives explained.  
  
Antan nodded her head in Legato's direction. Legato did the same in hers.  
  
"Now, let's get out of town and watch to make sure Gavin does his job," Knives ordered, walking passed Antan.  
  
Antan and Legato walked behind Knives as the left town.  
  
*****  
  
As afternoon came around, Astra was in her studio. She was drawing herself as she saw in her dream, with the change in hair color and the trench coat.  
  
Then there was a clamor downstairs and Vash started shouting that Milly and Meryl were here. Astra looked up from her drawing and set her pencil down. She stood and headed downstairs.  
  
When Astra made it downstairs from the studio, Vash had already let the two women inside the house. There was all sorts of talk as Vash led them to the room Nick was laying in.  
  
It was a joyous reunion between friends. Astra stood at the doorway for a moment, watching the celebration. Then disappeared back to her studio, feeling a little out of place.  
  
She felt better once she was back into her studio. She continued the drawing of herself as she has seen in her dream. The dull roar from the reunion was in the background.  
  
It's actually been a long time since this house or herself had any visitors. Astra eventually became so wrapped up in her drawing that she lost track of time and forgot that she had guests in her house. It was as though she was placed into a trance.  
  
There was a knock on her door that she didn't even hear. Behind her, Vash entered the studio after not hearing her answer. He came up from behind her and gently tapped Astra on the shoulder. Her eyes widened as she whipped around and nailed Vash in the jaw with a backfist. He stumbled backwards, his hand at his jaw. She gasped as she stood and stared at Vash, who was now sitting on her studio floor.  
  
He looked at her, rubbing his jaw gingerly, then started to laugh. Astra raised an eyebrow at him in confusion, then she too started to chuckle. Offering a hand, she helped Vash off the floor. They were both still laughing.  
  
"I'm sorry," Astra said between laughs.  
  
Vash took his hand away from his jaw. "That's alright. I really wasn't expecting you to hit that hard though."  
  
Astra saw Vash's jaw and she stepped forward, gently raising a hand to his jaw.  
  
"Oh, my God. Does that hurt? Do you want ice?" She asked in sudden concern, no longer laughing.  
  
Vash stepped back, startled at her sudden concern. He smiled, "No," he placed a gloved hand on hers. "It hurts, but I'll be fine."  
  
Blinking, she stepped back and then headed downstairs, not making any eye contact with him. Vash was right behind, wondering what the hell just happened back there.  
  
Astra turned from the door of the studio to face an angry and irritable Meryl.  
  
"What kind of hostess are you? Disappearing and not even telling us." Meryl was in Astra's face.  
  
Vash appeared from the door behind Astra. A bruise was on his jaw. Meryl looked over Astra's shoulder and saw Vash's jaw and glared at her.  
  
"And you even hit your guests. Haven't your parent's taught you anything in how to treat your guests?"  
  
Just then, Astra's eyes were filled with pain and anger. Lighting seem to be in her eyes, jumping around. Astra didn't say anything as she walked around Meryl and stormed down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. Milly and Nick looked at Astra as she went down the stairs.  
  
"I think you pissed her off, Meryl," Vash stated.  
  
"Well, good," Meryl barked. "Maybe then she'll learn not to disappear and hit her guests."  
  
Vash rolled his eyes as he walked around Meryl, too. He entered Nick's room and helped Nick down the stairs. Milly and Meryl followed them to the living room.  
  
Astra was in the kitchen, from the expression on her face, she wasn't happy. When she saw Meryl in the living room, she scowled and continued what she was doing.  
  
Vash poked his head through the door to the kitchen. "You want any help?"  
  
She shook her head and faked a smile. "No, but thank you for asking."  
  
About 15-20 minutes later, they all had a quiet dinner of spaghetti. Milly and Meryl volunteered to do the dishes.  
  
When everything was clean and put away, Astra showed the rooms that Milly and Meryl would sleep in for the night. Nick stayed in the living room and slept on the couch and Vash took her parents room once more. Astra chose to sleep in her studio. She had a mattress stored away in there when she didn't feel like going to her room.  
  
When the house was silent, or at least Astra thought it was silent, Astra cleared her desk. She climbed onto her desk and opened her window. Then she carefully climbed out and onto the roof, agile as a cat. Bringing her knees close to her chest, she hugged her knees and looked at the night sky.  
  
In the room that Vash was sleeping in, Vash awoke from a slight chill that has crept into his room. In his pajamas, he tip-toed out of his room out of his room and entered Astra's studio.  
  
"Astra?" He peered over the top step into the studio. Noticing that she wasn't there, he came the rest of the way up the stairs. He looked around and saw that her window was opened. Which would explain why its cold in here, Vash thought. He climbed on Astra's desk and poked his head out the window. "Astra?"  
  
Astra looked down to see the top of Vash's head. She giggled. "Up here, Vash!"  
  
Vash raised an eyebrow as he looked in Astra's direction, up. Then he climbed onto the roof to join Astra. He sat beside her. "So what are you doing up here?"  
  
She turned her gaze back to the sky. " I come up here to look at the stars. To think and to clear my head at nights."  
  
He nodded. "Interesting."  
  
She nodded too. "Yeah. I even come here hoping to see my parents within the stars."  
  
Vash gave Astra a curious glance. She noticed his look and quickly explained. "My parents died five years ago."  
  
"Ohh.is that why you got a little P.O.ed when Meryl mentioned them?"  
  
She nodded in response. Then she started to creep towards the window. Vash followed, helping Astra back through the window.  
  
"Well," Astra said shutting the window. "Good night, Vash the Stampede."  
  
"Uhh." he headed down the stairs. "Good night, Astra Kaji."  
  
After Vash left her studio, she crawled into her bed and fell asleep. 


	7. A World Destrooyed

YAY!! Some action! Now this fic is getting somewhere, I think. Anyway...I do not own Trigun. (Darn it.) Well, enjoy and R&R! Love and peace!  
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Chapter 7: A World Destroyed  
  
Gavin strolled through the quiet streets of Polaris. It was late and the only noise that could be heard was coming from the saloon as people became drunk. Houses and shops were dark and gave an eerie, creepy look to the town, as though it was a ghost town.  
  
He reached the square of the town and looked around at what he was about to destroy. This was his home, keyword: WAS. He remembered the games that he would play with the local kids. Gavin smiled to himself as he remembered that he is the dodge ball king of the town. He was the best at the game; Astra wasn't as good as he, but close to it.  
  
Then he remembered the reason he left this town. It was because his parents died in that very square, as his sister told him since he wasn't there. Gavin blamed her for their deaths, but she argued that it wasn't her and the whole town knew that.  
  
Bringing his hand in front of him, palms up, Gavin created a fireball as large as a bowling ball. He chucked it into a building to his right. He continued to throw bowling ball size fireballs all around him. He left the fiery square and came to a refilling station for vehicles. He chucked on there and watched it blow up. Gavin allowed himself to be engulfed by the inferno, knowing that he won't get burned.  
  
The town was no longer dark and eerie, it was as bright as midday but it was much hotter. People began to realize that their homes were on fire and began to scream and tried to escape. Soon, the streets were filled with terrified people, trying to escape from the inferno.  
  
Gavin ran through the inferno that he created out of the refilling station. When he emerged on the other side, he threw a fireball into the building in front of him and turned to his left. He ran through the town, throwing fireballs to his left and right.  
  
Once he realized that the whole town was in flames. He ran out of town, right through the flames. Gavin didn't stop until he reached a ridge that overlooked the town. His face was black, parts of his clothes were burned, his eyebrows were gone and the tips of his red hair were charred, but there was not a single burn on his body. Since fire is his power element, he can go through fire and not get hurt what so ever. And he can become fire if he wanted to.  
  
Gavin smirked as he looked over the inferno that he has created that was once the peaceful town of Polaris. Behind him, Knives walked forward and stood next to Gavin.  
  
"Good job," Knives commented.  
  
He nodded, still smirking. "Thank you, Master."  
  
Knives ignored Gavin's thanks. "Have you talked to your sister?"  
  
Gavin sighed and his smirk disappeared. "No, but I will when she's alone."  
  
Knives turned and started to walk away. "And if she refuses?"  
  
Gavin still looked at the fiery town, unmoving. "I know what to do."  
  
"Good." Knives kept walking away.  
  
Gavin stood there a bit more, and then he, too, turned and walked away from the ridge.  
  
*****  
  
Astra was the last one to wake up, but it did take a while for Vash to wake up himself. Meryl was in the kitchen, making breakfast and Nick was limping around, happy that he was able to move about again.  
  
Milly was in Astra's studio, kneeling next to Astra, who was still asleep. Milly had a hand on Astra's shoulder and was shaking her slightly.  
  
"Miss Astra, wake up. Breakfast will be ready soon."  
  
Astra groaned and rolled over. "Not now Mom. I dun want to get up for school."  
  
Milly blinked. Vash looked up the stairs and saw Milly in the studio. He climbed the stairs and saw what Milly was trying to do.  
  
"Having problems," he asked.  
  
Milly looked at Vash. "Yeah, Mr. Vash. Miss Astra won't wake up."  
  
Vash kneeled next to Milly and looked at Astra. Then Vash stood up, walked over to the foot of Astra's blankets and ripped them off of her.  
  
Astra curled up into a ball, trying to keep whatever heat has just escaped. But she was fast asleep.  
  
Vash arched an eyebrow and scratched his head. Then he thought of another idea. He moved and stood next to Milly.  
  
"Can you help me real quick," Vash asked as he took hold of part of the side of Astra's mattress. Milly nodded and did the same.  
  
"Ok," Vash stated. "On three, one.two.three!"  
  
Milly and Vash lifted the edge of the mattress, tossing Astra off the mattress.  
  
Astra awoke instantly while in mid-air. She yelped as she crashed on the studio's wooden floor. Astra blinked and turned her head toward Vash and Milly. Vash was fighting laughter.  
  
Milly looked at Astra with her blue eyes. "Good morning, Miss Astra," Milly said. "Breakfast should be ready by now."  
  
At that instant, Meryl shouted from the kitchen that breakfast was ready. Vash stopped laughing and bolted down two flights of stairs. Astra blinked at Vash's quick reaction at the sound of breakfast. Then she got off the floor and stood in front of Milly.  
  
"I'll be there in a couple of minutes," Astra stated.  
  
Milly nodded and left the studio.  
  
After a couple of minutes, Astra joined the others in a breakfast of pancakes and juice. This time Vash and Astra did the dishes.  
  
They were close to being done with the dishes when Astra sniffed the air a moment. Something wasn't right, she could tell. When they finished, Astra went out onto her porch. She looked out at the horizon. Her eyes widened when she saw a black ploom of smoke that was in the direction of Polaris.  
  
"What the-?" She shouted from the porch.  
  
After a moment, Milly, Meryl and Vash were on the porch with Astra. Nick stayed at the door and leaned against the doorjamb. Astra turned and dashed across the porch. Leaping over the railing of the porch, she ran over to her motorcycle. After starting it, Astra turned it around and sped off toward Polaris.  
  
The group she left behind yelled out her name, but soon stopped when Astra was too far away. Meryl kicked at the sand.  
  
"Damn it! She's worse than you, Vash!"  
  
Vash gave Meryl a weird look. "Gee, thanks. I think."  
  
*****  
  
Astra leaned close to the handlebars of her motorcycle, willing it to go faster. Her brown hair whipped behind her as the wind blew in her face and through her hair. She whipped the tail end of her bike sideways as she stopped at the edge of town. She gasped in surprised at the sight that she saw what happened to the town.  
  
Polaris, the only town Astra had known all her life, was destroyed. Astra blinked tears in her eyes. Within the plooms of smoke, she was the red-orange color of dying fires. People were burned and dead. Buildings were blackened and collapsed. Everything was destroyed.  
  
There's only one person I can think of who could do this, she thought, Gavin Kaji.  
Vash was sitting on the railing, staring at the continuous black smoke that was still in the horizon. There was a faint roar of a motorcycle as Vash saw Astra on her motorcycle. She was still pretty far away. As Astra pulled closer, Vash realized that her expression wasn't very happy.  
  
He jumped off the railing and walked over to Astra as she parked the motorcycle. Meryl came storming out of the house.  
  
Astra came off her motorcycle as Vash reached her. He asked, "What happened?"  
  
Astra closed her eyes. "It's.it's.it's." She stuttered. "Completely destroyed!"  
  
Meryl instantly stopped in her tracks. Her anger dissipated. "What?"  
  
Opening her eyes, tears were in her eyes. "Destroyed. Burned to the ground. I don't think anyone survived."  
  
Vash looked at her in awe. "Who.how."  
  
Astra walked around Vash and past Meryl and into the house. Nick was about to open the door when Astra came in. He half-jumped back in surprise.  
  
She dashed up the stairs and to her studio. Astra clamored out of the window and onto the roof. Hugging her knees, Astra cried into her knees. Vash came on the roof, too. Astra didn't realize that he was there until he placed an arm on her shoulders and brought her close to him. She didn't put up a fight as she uncoiled and allowed Vash to hug her.  
  
In between her tears, Astra was muttering, "How could.how could.how could he do this? How?"  
  
Vash looked at her with his aqua eyes. "Who, Astra?"  
  
She lifted her tear-stained face and looked at Vash. "My brother."  
  
"Gavin?"  
  
She nodded and gulped. Astra pulled away from Vash and looked out at the desert, chin on her knees.  
  
Vash was confused. "How could he be able to destroy a whole town?"  
  
"Because of what we are."  
  
This made Vash even more confused. "I'm not sure I understand."  
  
Astra kept looking out at the desert. "I wasn't expecting you to." She continued, "My brother and I aren't exactly human."  
  
"Well, neither am, at least that's what people say."  
  
She smiled weakly. "I am what is called an Element. I'm supposed to develop a certain unhuman power. And while I develop my power, I change in some way, shape or form. My brother's main power is fire and his hair color changed and it stayed stuck out."  
  
Vash nodded, not saying anything.  
  
Astra decided on changing the subject. "We should head out, before it gets too late. Even though its close to midday."  
  
Vash agreed and they both went into her house through the window. Nick and Milly had a simple lunch of soup and sandwiches ready when they came down.  
  
Everyone was silent and Astra was avoiding eye contact with anyone.  
  
Finally Nick spoke, to Astra more than anyone else. "So.do you know who did that?"  
  
Astra almost had her spoon to her mouth when she stopped. Slowly, she placed the spoon back to the bowl. Finally, she rose her head, showing that she was crying earlier.  
  
"Yes," she half-whispered, "It was my brother."  
  
"The one who shoot my foot?"  
  
She nodded slowly.  
  
"But how?" Milly asked.  
  
"Its pretty hard to explain," Vash said. "But I'll explain it the best I can."  
  
Vash told the group what Astra told him on the roof.  
  
"Oh, great," Meryl exclaimed. "Another humanoid for the world."  
  
Astra ignored Meryl's statement as she got up from the table. "We should leave. There's no use for us staying here much longer. If we leave now and use the vehicles, we should be about a quarter to the next town. Which is Cassieopeia."  
  
"Well, then, let's get ready," Meryl stated.  
  
With that being said, everyone left the room to gather their belongings. Vash took care of the most important items for the trip, the food.  
  
Astra entered her studio once more. Her bag was placed at the bottom of the steps. She couldn't believe that she would be leaving this place. She looked at the drawings that she has done over the years. This was her world, and now she had to leave it.  
  
This time, she heard a knock on her door. Astra walked over to the top of the stairs and saw Vash leaning against the doorjamb.  
  
"You must like being up there," Vash observed.  
  
Astra smiled and sat on the top step. "You can say that."  
  
Vash climbed up the stairs and sat next to Astra and looked around the room. "I gotta hand it to ya though," he commented. "You are good at what you do."  
  
She smiled and blushed. "Thank you."  
  
Astra stood and walked over to her desk. She picked up the painting that she'd done of Vash. Then looked at the various drawings and paintings.  
  
"I dunno what I am going to do with all of these."  
  
Vash stood up and looked over her shoulder. "You have no place to store it?"  
  
Her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, yeah. I forgot about those!" She walked over to a closet and opened it. Pulling out a large rectangular box, Astra set it on the floor. She opened the box, reveling a bunch of cylinders and a pack to put them in.  
  
She pulled a bunch out of the box. Vash looked at her odd as she chucked a few cylinders at him. Astra then stood and grabbed a few pictures and started to roll them up.  
  
Vash soon got the idea and started to help. They finished within 10 minutes. Astra was finishing placing the cylinders into the pack, when Meryl barged into the studio.  
  
"What is taking so long?"  
  
Astra swung the pack over her shoulder and smiled. "I'm sorry, but I decided to bring my drawings so I can sell them in town."  
  
Meryl raised an eyebrow. "Drawings?"  
  
Astra nodded. "I'll show you some when we set up camp tonight."  
  
"Okay, then let's go!" 


	8. Sibling Rivalry

*dances * YAY! Another review! Which means...another chapter!! Muahaha! Just so ya know: Gavin's abilities are self-healing and pyrokinetic(like you didn't know that) and Astra's abilities, which will appear in this chappy, is lighting and super speed. Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun! Only the DVD series and the Kuroneko plushie! (nyao!!) o.o ENJOY!!  
  
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Chapter 8: Sibling Rivalry  
  
They set up camp before twilight. Nick and Vash set up a fire as the girls set up the rest of camp. They sat around the fire and had dinner. Nick, Vash, Milly and Meryl talked about what has happened before they got here. Astra stayed quiet, staring into the fire.  
  
"Hey," Meryl said getting Astra's attention. "Didn't you say that you were going to show me some of your paintings?"  
  
Astra's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah." She stood and jogged over to her motorcycle and brought her pack over. She pulled cylinder out from the pack, opened it and handed it to Meryl.  
  
Meryl took the cylinder that Astra had handed to her. She dumped the rolled paintings out from the cylinder. Meryl gasped when she saw the paintings.  
  
"Wow, these are good."  
  
Astra blushed and nodded. "Thank you."  
  
Nick and Milly looked over Meryl's shoulders to see the drawings. Both complimented on how good the drawings are.  
  
Astra thanked them more as she took the paintings and put them back with her motorcycle.  
  
Then it was quiet around the fire. Astra went back to staring into the fire. She was imagining on how horrible it was to be in Polaris when it was on fire. She was also thinking about what Gavin said in the saloon in Polaris. She just couldn't believe that Gavin would ask her to do such a thing as to join the Gung-Ho Guns.  
  
Astra couldn't take it any more. She needed to clear her head. She stood up and stretched. "I'm going for a walk, I need to clear my head."  
  
"Alright," Meryl said. "Don't be too long, it's almost night."  
  
The first sun of the double suns was setting. Astra nodded and walked away from the camp. "Dun worry, I won't."  
  
Astra soon disappeared from the camp. Vash was debating whether or not to follow, he decided not to. He felt a little vulnerable not knowing where Astra was going to be. He didn't know if there was anyone out there to get her. Vash cleared his mind and pushed all those ideas he had away.  
  
*****  
  
Astra strolled away from the camp. Her eyes were watching her feet as she kicked the sand. She stopped walking and raised her head to gaze up at the darkening sky. Her mind wandered thought of her brother and what he has become. The red moon that shone in the sky along with the others attracted her eyes. It reminded her of a fireball, which was her brother's power. She was still gazing when someone walked towards her and she didn't know.  
  
"What are you doing here alone, Astra," asked a masculine voice.  
  
Astra turned her head and faced the owner of the voice, which was Gavin.  
  
"I needed to clear my head," she answered simply.  
  
"Oh," Gavin said, then added, "I don't think you should be here by yourself."  
  
Astra became puzzled. "Why is that?"  
  
His hand reached for his Belief Lighting gun. "Because someone can kill you, like me."  
  
Her eyes widened and she dove for a nearby boulder. She just barely missed getting hit as dust flew behind her.  
  
*****  
  
Back at the campsite, Vash's eyes looked away from the fire and in the direction he heard the gunshots. "You hear that?"  
  
Meryl rolled her eyes. "Its probably a stand-off at the next town."  
  
Nick arched an eyebrow. "But we're no where near a town."  
  
Vash sighed and stayed where he was, better to stay here for it was getting darker. But he was worried for Astra, for he thinks that she is in trouble.  
  
*****  
  
Astra stayed crouched behind the boulder as she shot at Gavin with her Grader model 2043 in hand.  
  
She and Gavin exchanged a few more shots once in a while. She couldn't land a single bullet on him and he couldn't do the same to her. Astra ran out of bullets and scrambled to change ammo clips. Pressing her back against the cool boulder, her hands worked quickly, taking the old clip and chucking it aside while pressing in a new one.  
  
Raising her gun to her face, Astra stood as far as the boulder was able to cover her. Then she turned to her left and stepped out of the cover of the boulder, ready to shoot. But the problem was, Gavin wasn't there.  
  
"What the-," Astra said confused before she got punched on the left cheek by Gavin.  
  
She tumbled from the force of the punch. It was as though someone slammed her into the ground really hard. Astra finally stopped tumbling and she was face down in the sand. Slowly, she got on her hands and knees. Her gun was only an arm reach away. She scrambled to grab her gun and Astra quickly got up, just in time to block another punch from Gavin.  
  
Gavin placed a hand just an inch in front of Astra's chest and sent a fireball right into her. She flew backwards and was skidding on the sand when she aimed her gun and fired a couple of shots. Two shots landed in Gavin's gut, while another one hit his shoulder. He stepped back with every hit, but stayed standing.  
  
Astra stayed down on the ground, staring at what she just did. Slowly, she stood, mouth opened and not believing what she just did. She watched him as he looked back at her. It seemed as though he was oblivious that he was shot.  
  
Gavin saw the expression on his younger sister's face. He smirked at her and then healed his wounds. Astra gasped in surprise.  
  
Laughing, Gavin asked, "What? Didn't you know I could heal myself?"  
  
He then leveled his gun at Astra and shot. She dodged to the left, as the bullet skimmed on her right bicep. Astra winced in pain and she looked at the damage. She could see that it was bad when she saw her blood starting to soak her sleeve.  
  
Gavin took the opportunity to attack. He charged forward and tackled Astra. Both of them rolled over on another. Gavin stopped the motion by slamming Astra into the sand. He raised a fist and punched Astra in the face several times. She managed to block a few of the punches, then she slipped a hand onto Gavin's chest. Her muscles tensed and bright blue sparks appeared under her hand, making Gavin fly backwards.  
  
Astra was dumbfounded as she quickly got up. She raised one hand to her face and felt blood at her nose. Then she felt blood on her forehead and beneath her left eye. Gavin looked at her, surprised.  
  
"My power."Astra was still dumbfounded.  
  
Gavin stood, finishing the sentence for her. "Is lighting."  
  
He didn't waste any time in contemplating it. Gavin sent a fireball at Astra and she dodged it easily. Gavin threw a few more at Astra.  
  
Dodging all of the fireballs easily, she felt fast, incredibly fast. It's almost as though I'm not even touching the ground, she thought. She stopped in front of a boulder and looked at Gavin and saw the dust starting to settle. Her eyes widened, Apparently that is also part of my powers.  
  
*****  
  
Vash was the only one still awake. Astra hasn't come back and Vash was getting worried. He kept hearing gunshots and couldn't help but think that Astra was in trouble of some sort.  
  
Both of the suns had set and only the three moons shined brightly in the night sky. The sand seemed to glow under the moons. The fire was slowly dying. Vash poked at it to keep it going. Hearing more gunshots, he lifted his head in the direction where Astra walked off.  
  
He just couldn't help it anymore. Vash checked to make sure that Milly, Meryl and Nick were asleep. Then headed in the direction that he heard the gunshots, praying that Astra was all right.  
  
*****  
  
Gavin blinked and then shot at Astra. The bullet landed in the right bicep, right next to where the first bullet skimmed. Astra staggered and stayed standing.  
  
She looked at her wound, then turned her head back toward Gavin to see him punch her in the face yet again. She staggered back and Gavin snagged her in the neck and slammed her into the boulder. It felt as though someone hit her with a sandsteamer. Blackness started to creep into the corners of her eyes, but she pushed them back.  
  
Gavin slammed her head into the boulder a couple more times, then pulled out his gun and placed it on her forehead.  
  
"It's about time for you to be dead," he sneered.  
  
Astra's head started to swim in a sea of pain. She felt herself starting to slip into unconsciousness and her eyes becoming unfocused. Then felt the cool barrel of Gavin's gun on her forehead.  
  
*****  
  
Off in the distance, Vash saw Gavin slamming Astra into the boulder. He ran in the direction of the two. He gasped when Vash saw Gavin pull out his gun and placed it on Astra's forehead.  
  
"NO!" Vash reached Gavin and Astra. He tackled Gavin off of Astra.  
  
Astra slid to the ground. "Vash, no." She muttered as blackness engulfed her eyes and she slipped into unconscious from a concussion.  
  
Vash slammed Gavin into the ground and punched him in the temple, knocking Gavin out easily. He blinked as he got up and looked over at Astra.  
  
"No," he gasped as he ran over and kneeled next to her. He checked her pulse and was relieved that she was still alive. Vash carefully picked her up and carried her back to camp, knowing that Gavin will wake up with a bad headache. 


	9. Cassiopeia

Well...here is the next chapter! Don't forget to check out my other fics, like Hybrid Theory(another Trigun fic). Dis: I do not own Trigun or its charrys. Enjoy and review!!  
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Chapter 9: Cassiopeia  
  
Astra woke up to what seemed to be a sea of pain. Everything hurt, especially her head. She kept her eyes close since she didn't know where she was. Then she heard voices.  
  
"How is she, Vash?" She thought it was Nick.  
  
"Still out." That was Vash.  
  
Astra then decided to pry her eyes open. She groaned as her eyesight cleared. Then slowly moved her head in the direction that she heard Vash and Nick talking.  
  
"Hey, Vash, look."  
  
Vash turned around and saw Astra was awake. He smiled as he kneeled next to the bed. "Hey Astra. How are you feeling?"  
  
She groaned. "Not good. It hurts everywhere."  
  
Vash gingerly touched her forehead. "Well, of course. You did fight against your brother."  
  
Closing her eyes, she groaned again. "Dun remind me."  
  
He smiled.  
  
"Where are we?" Astra just realized that she was in a bed.  
  
"Cassiopeia."  
  
She lifted her head and found it swimming in pain again. Placing her head back on the pillow, she asked, "How long have I been out then?"  
  
"Two days."  
  
Astra groaned.  
  
Vash decided on changing the subject. "Are you hungry?"  
  
With good timing, Astra's stomach growled. Astra and Vash laughed. Astra stopped shortly because pain over swept her. Vash and Nick disappeared from her room and Astra placed a hand on her head.  
  
Slowly, she turned her head and saw her upper bicep was bandaged and there was a red spot on it. She moved her head slowly around and absorbed her surroundings. She had a tank top on and was covered with a blanket. Astra saw her packs on a chair nearby.  
  
Just then, Vash, Nick Milly and Meryl appeared in her room. Vash had a bowl of soup with him. Milly and Nick helped her into a sitting position as Vash helped her eat. Astra stayed in bed the rest of the day, recovering from her wounds.  
  
*****  
  
Gavin woke up in a room on a bed at Knives' base. He blinked a couple of times as he climbed out of the bed. He changed into his clothing and left the room.  
  
Knives was standing outside Gavin's room. When he saw Gavin exit his room, Knives spoke.  
  
"Pyro, come with me."  
  
Gavin looked at Knives as he walked past him. Then followed, head bowed down in failure.  
  
They entered the briefing room. Knives walked to the other side of the room, then turned and glared at Gavin. Gavin stayed standing at the door.  
  
"You failed me once more, Pyro."  
  
Gavin stayed quiet as Knives continued.  
  
"That is the second time you failed to do what you are told to do. How do you explain this?"  
  
Gavin was hesitant on answering. Then he raised his head to answer. "I.I.I came close."  
  
"You came close?" Knives was furious. "CLOSE DOESN'T CUT IT!! I want her DEAD!"  
  
Gavin bowed his head once again. "I won't fail you again, Master."  
  
Knives continued glaring at Gavin. Then started to walk towards Gavin as he spoke. "And if you do, you might as well not come back because I'll kill you like the pathetic being you are!"  
  
Knives stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Gavin stayed in the briefing room for a moment before heading back to his room to pack and continue his mission.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning, Astra was fit enough to get out of bed and join the others in breakfast. She changed into her jeans and a new ash gray t-shirt. Astra undone her bandages to survey the damage done to her arm. It wasn't that bad, she'd have to ask someone to clean it and re-bandage it for her.  
  
After she tied her boots on, Astra walked over to the mirror to have a look at her face. Her cheek was bruised and there were two cuts on her face, one below her eye and the other on her forehead. She tried to smile, but it hurt. Astra shook her head as she turned away from the mirror and headed out her room to find the others.  
  
Astra found them in the restaurant having breakfast. As she walked down the stairs, the four looked and saw her. Vash leaped to his feet.  
  
"She lives!" He rushed over and gave Astra a hug.  
  
She winced in pain from Vash's hug. "Vash, you're hurting me."  
  
Vash instantly released Astra and blushed. He apparently forgot that she wasn't completely healed. "Sorry."  
  
She waved her hand a bit. "That's ok. But I'm famished."  
  
He smiled as he offered Astra his arm. "Then join us in breakfast."  
  
Astra took his arm and they headed for the table where Milly, Meryl and Nick were having their breakfast. Each of them said their hellos as Astra sat down.  
  
"No offense," Nick started, "But you look like you went through a war."  
  
"What?" Milly looked confused. "There was a war?"  
  
Astra blushed, but some of it was hidden from the bruises. "That's just a figure of speech, Milly."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Why was your brother fighting you," Meryl asked.  
  
A waiter came over and Astra ordered a stack of pancakes and a glass of juice. Then she answered Meryl's question.  
  
"Its because I won't join the Gung-Ho Guns with him."  
  
The group gasped in surprised.  
  
"Why does he want you to join the Gung-Ho Guns," Nick asked.  
  
"Is it because.?" Vash's voice trailed off as Astra nodded affirmatively.  
  
The waiter came back with Astra's pancakes and juice. She dug right in hungrily. The others were surprised to see how hungry Astra was. She had a total of 12 pancakes. After she finished her last pancake, Astra headed upstairs to gather her things.  
  
*****  
  
When Astra was about finished gathering her things, Vash knocked on her door.  
  
"Come in." Astra was stuffing something into her pack as Vash entered.  
  
He entered to see Astra straitening the room a bit. Her one shirtsleeve was rolled up to reveal the wounds that she received from her brother.  
  
"How long was that open?" He was pointing to Astra wound.  
  
Astra turned and gave Vash a small smile. "Since I've been up. I'm surprised that none of you saw it at breakfast."  
  
Vash turned and left the room. He called out, "I'll be right back real quick."  
  
She shrugged and winced from her shoulder wound. Vash came back with the medical supplies that she used on Nick when they first met. Astra sat down and Vash sat on the right side of her. He turned his attention to Astra's shoulder as he cleaned it with alcohol. She winced in pain. Then, out of reaction, Astra punched him in the face with her free arm.  
  
Vash fell off the bed from the punch. He blinked as he stood and stared at Astra. She blushed. "Sorry, that was a natural reaction, sort of."  
  
"Uh-huh, sure." Vash sat on the bed again and finished cleaning and bandaging her wound with out getting hit by her again.  
  
She stood and walked over and picked up one of the packs. It was the one that contains her paintings.  
  
"What are you going to do with that," Vash asked.  
  
Astra swung the pack onto her good shoulder. "Well, I have no real use for these paintings, so I figured I should just try to sell them."  
  
Vash nodded and stayed quiet.  
  
*****  
  
Later that day, Astra rented a stand and got some of her pictures on display. The people that went by complimented on her work and a few asked how much they were. She was reasonable and did sell some of her paintings. By nightfall, Astra earned a total of $$250 and sold a good portion of her paintings.  
  
Astra had dinner with the others as she told them all that she sold. They were impressed.  
  
"We didn't even make that much when we worked on the sand steamer, say Milly," Meryl stated over dinner.  
  
"That's right," Milly stated. "We only had enough to have worker bunks."  
  
Meryl sweat-dropped. "Milly that came with having a job on the sand steamer."  
  
Astra finished her dinner and stood. "I'm heading to bed. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
They said their good nights and Astra disappeared up the stairs. Vash was staring at her as she walked away.  
  
"I think someone likes a certain person," Nick stated.  
  
Vash snapped out of it. "What?"  
  
The three snickered. They could tell that Vash like Astra, but Astra was a different story. Vash just didn't want to admit anything on that subject.  
  
"C'mon, Vash. Admit it, you like Astra." Nick nudged him in the ribs.  
  
Vash shook his head back and forth. "I do not."  
  
"You are in denial, Vash," Meryl proclaimed.  
  
"Am not," Vash lied. "I do not like Astra."  
  
The three nodded in a 'yeah, right' fashion.  
  
Vash downed the rest of his beer and stood from the table. "I'll see you all in the morning."  
  
He headed up the stairs and glanced at Astra's door as he entered his own room. Vash plopped himself on the bed. He didn't want to admit, but he really did like Astra. He was actually afraid that Astra didn't like him. She reminded him of Rem in some ways, like her care for people.  
  
Vash drifted off to sleep with the comparisons of Astra and Rem bouncing in his mind. 


	10. The Truth

Hee hee hee; what would you expect from a Mary Sue fic, huh? Anywho...here is the next chapter. What happened to Astra's parents that she's keeping as a secret? And what's this? Astra's changing! Mainly in hair color at the moment. But dun worry, its natural for her 'kind' to do such a thing. ^^  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun or its chars, only mine.  
  
Kuroneko: o.o nyao  
  
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Chapter 10: The Truth  
  
She was in the center of some city. Her hair was completely bright blue, but it was still straight. Her clothing was still the same, but no trench coat like the last time. Astra was fighting against her brother, gunfire and their elemental powers.  
  
Astra dove and rolled to the left, avoiding a fireball. She shot at her brother, who dodged it and let it hit the wall of a building behind him. She then sent a lighting ball that hit Gavin in the chest.  
  
Gavin flew back and rolled to a stand. He wasn't hurt at all. His eyes hardened at Astra.  
  
"Time to end this," Gavin stated as his whole body became surrounded by flames. Using whatever energy he has, he made the fire stronger and larger.  
  
Astra's eyes widened a moment, and then she knew what she had to do. She stood as lighting surged through her body.  
  
"Not if I can help it," Astra said through the lighting.  
  
She concentrated on putting every ounce of energy in the lighting. Astra felt light and started to float into the mid-air. She didn't know that she was doing so, and kept her energy up as much as possible for her power to charge.  
  
Then she released the lighting and sent it towards her brother. At the same time, Gavin sent his fire energy at Astra.  
  
Both elements collided and when they met, it sent a shock wave that broke windows and shook the buildings. People and cars were tossed everywhere.  
  
Both Elements kept their powers as strong as possible. Astra didn't know how long she can last, but sent another surge of lighting to help weaken Gavin. She screamed in protest to keep going. Astra could feel her energy start to falter and lower, but she kept up a fight.  
  
Then, she used the last of her energy and sent right at Gavin. She screamed even louder in protest as the lighting hit Gavin and destroyed the town.  
  
Astra stayed suspended in mid-air for a moment before falling about 100 feet to the ground. Then everything went black as she hit the rubble of the town.  
  
*****  
  
Astra woke with a start as she landed on her bed with a thud. She bolted into a sitting position, breathing hard and a light coating of sweat all over her body. Her head jerked around to get her surroundings. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that she was in the same room that she first woke up several days earlier.  
  
She climbed out of bed and noticed that it was still dark outside. She pulled her jeans on after she got out of her pajama shorts. Figuring her pajama top would be fine; she silently headed for the bathroom to brush her hair.  
  
Turning the bathroom light on, Astra entered the bathroom. Astra splashed cold water on her face. She ran her wet hands through her hair and reached for her brush to start brushing her hair. When she raised her head and finally faced the mirror, she almost screamed.  
  
Her hair has changed. It has bright blue streaks with her brown hair. It was the same length and was still straight. There was a flicker of remembrance as she remembered a vision that she had a while ago. She went on and brushed her hair, then went back into her room.  
  
Astra grabbed her pack, turned on her lamp and sat on her bed. Opening the pack, she pulled out the cylinder that contains paintings that she wants to keep. She then opened the cylinder and poured the paintings out of the container.  
  
Flipping through the papers, Astra briefly looked at the paintings until she found the one of herself, but her hair was completely different. It was spiked out everywhere and was a bit shorter than her original length.  
  
Astra put the paintings back in the cylinder, turned the light off and headed for the bar downstairs. She needed a drink to lull her back to sleep. Ordering a beer, she seated herself at the bar.  
  
Behind her, two people entered the saloon. One was a blue-haired man wearing a white coat with spikes on one shoulder and a skull on the opposite. His partner was a lilac-haired woman wearing a dark green trench coat. They sat at a table nearby.  
  
Astra was able to see the two newcomers out of the corner of her eye. The man reminded her of someone, but she couldn't place it. Then she heard a voice in her head.  
  
"Hello, Astra Kaji." The voice was masculine and had a psychotic monotone to it. She had a strong sense that it belonged to the man in the white coat.  
  
Mentally, she asked, "Who are you?"  
  
The man spoke again; his voice had a slight hint of laughter. "Legato. Legato Bluesummers. One of the men who had a hand in your parents' death."  
  
Astra's muscles tensed, but she didn't move. In her mind, she said, "It was you."  
  
"Yes," Legato hissed. "But I wasn't the only one who had a hand in it."  
  
Then he and his partner stood. "We better get going. I'm leaving a bag here for you. There's something in it that could hold sentimental value to you. Until we meet again, Astra Kaji."  
  
Astra turned in her seat and watched Legato and his partner leaves the saloon. She looked back at the table and saw a brown paper bag.  
  
She turned back to her drink and downed the rest of it. The warmth of the alcohol started spread throughout her body as she stood from the bar. Astra walked over to the table Legato sat at. The brown bag still sat there. She stood there a moment before reaching out and snatching the bag. It felt heavy.  
  
Once up in her room, she placed the bag on her nightstand. I'll look at it in the morning, she thought as the warmth from the alcohol put her into a dreamless sleep.  
  
*****  
  
Nick, Milly, Meryl and Vash were awake and had their breakfast. Vash became curious and slightly worried as to what was taking Astra so long to get here. There was no sign of Astra. She wasn't up yet, or at least they thought she wasn't up. After Vash finished his drink, he stood from the table.  
  
"I'll go.check on Astra." Vash stated, a little hesitant on saying that, then walked around the table and headed up the stairs.  
  
Meryl and Nick both shook their heads after Vash disappeared up the stairs. Meryl was the first one to speak. "He just keeps getting weirder by the day."  
  
"I'll have to agree with you there," Nick said.  
  
Milly looked at Nick, then Meryl and Nick again. Then she asked, "Is that because Vash cares for Astra and doesn't want to admit it?"  
  
Both, Nick and Meryl, fell over in their seats. Then got up at the same time and sat down again.  
  
"Why do I have her for a partner," Meryl asked as she placed her head in her hands.  
  
Nick started banging his head on the table. " I don't think you wanna know."  
  
*****  
  
Astra was awake and was sitting on her bed, staring at the brown paper bag on her nightstand. She wondered what it was that Legato gave her that would have "sentimental value" to her. Not being able to take it anymore, she reached over and grabbed the bag. Astra dumped the contents from the bag onto her bed.  
  
The contents were actually two guns. One was a large silver .50 Lighting Storm Magnum. The other is a smaller sized gun that was black and is a .15 Firestorm Revolver. She recognized them as her parents' guns; the Firestorm belonging to her mother, the Lighting Storm her fathers. Carefully, she picked up the small black revolver. Her head jerked back and she closed her eyes at the same time. She was having a flashback.  
  
~*Flashback*~  
  
A young teenaged Astra was walking with her parents. Her hair was all brown and reached past her shoulders while she had a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses over her crystal blue eyes. She had a pair of plain jeans and a black shirt on along with her black boots.  
  
Her parents were different from her. Neither of them had brown hair. Her mother had sky blue hair and matching eyes and her father had dark green hair with brown eyes. They were wearing clothing similar to their daughter's, but the colors varied.  
  
Astra turned around to face her parents. "Why did Gavin have to stay home?"  
  
"Because he caused a fire and we are making him clean it while we are here," her mother answered.  
  
Astra turned around and was quiet. Then her father spoke. "Astra, why don't you go to the sweet shop and we'll meet you there after we're done shopping, alright?"  
  
Her face lit up with joy. "Alright."  
  
Astra ran off to the side and entered the sweet shop as her parents continued down the street.  
  
"Dear, should we tell Astra? We already told Gavin last night," the mother asked.  
  
Astra's father turned to his wife. "We've been through this already. We agreed to tell her when she starts to show signs of her powers. Just like what we did with Gavin."  
  
On the side of the street, stood two men. One was the blue-haired man with the white coat. The other was a bleach-blonde haired with psychotic blue eyes. The bleached-blonde haired man saw the couple talking near the end of the street.  
  
"Hmm...something has to be done about these vermin, they are just so pathedic and a waste of space," the bleach-blonde haired stated.  
  
His companion silently agreed, then he smiled silently. An evil, psychotic kind of smile.  
  
Down the street a bit, there were gunshots heard. There was a robbery going on, but there was something odd about the robbers. Their eyes were blank and emotionless and their movements were almost, if not, robotic.  
  
People screamed and ran to get away from the robbers, but they were shooting at the retreating people. Both men stood calmly, watching the scene with great amusement. They were actually controlling the robbers for their own amusement. ((What sick minds.))  
  
Inside the sweet shop, Astra just finished paying her daily supply of sweets when she heard screaming outside. Curious, she left the store with a bag full to the top with sweets. Seeing that it was actually a robbery happening and that the robbers were shooting everyone in sight, Astra went into the crowd to find her parents.  
  
In the confusion of the crowd, Astra saw two familiar faces as they fell down after being shot. She made her way through the crowd, and saw who it was that was shot.  
  
"Mom! Dad!" She yelled, kneeling next to her parents, crying.  
  
Legato and his master still stood on the edge of the crowd, seeing the girl reaching her now dead parents. They weren't really expecting to see a child come onto the scene. Legato's master turned and walked away. Legato followed.  
  
Astra was still kneeling next to her parents, crying.  
  
*****  
  
Astra returned to her home alone. Her parents are dead and she felt that it was her fault, but she knew it wasn't. She entered the house.  
  
Gavin was in the living room sitting on the couch. He stood when he heard the door and expected to see his mom and dad any second. Instead, his younger sister, Astra entered the room, tear-stained.  
  
He looked confused. "Where are mom and dad?"  
  
Astra looked at her brother. "They're.they're.they're dead."  
  
"What?" Gavin couldn't believe his ears.  
  
"They're dead, Gavin. They got in the crossfire of a shootout."  
  
"I don't think that. Are you sure you didn't killed them?"  
  
Astra looked at him astonished. "What? Why would I want to kill them? You weren't even there to see it."  
  
Gavin shrugged. "Maybe because you were jealous of me getting all the attention from Mom and Dad."  
  
~*End Flashback*~  
  
Astra snapped back as she heard someone knocking at her door. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she said, "Come in."  
  
It was Vash who entered her room. His face had a hint of concern as he smiled at Astra. "Hey you, aren't going to come and join us for breakfast, even though we already finished?"  
  
Astra gave Vash a weak smile. "I'll pass."  
  
Vash sat down on her bed. "Something wrong?"  
  
Astra shook her head as she lied and avoided eye contact with Vash. "No, nothing's wrong."  
  
Vash saw through that lie as he gently made Astra look at him. Then he took notice as to what was in her hands and then of the silver gun on her bed. "Where did you get these?"  
  
"Uhh." Her mind raced a moment, but decided to say. "Someone gave it to me."  
  
At least that was part of the truth; she didn't want to say whom she got it from. Astra watched Vash nod his head and not say anything. Vash then stood up.  
  
"We're down stairs if you wanna join us." Then he left the room after Astra nodded in an 'alright' kind of matter.  
  
Astra looked down at the gun in her hands and thought. Why didn't I tell him everything? Because I'm stubborn. Betcha I'm probably gonna regret this moment later.  
  
She reached over and lifted the silver Lighting Storm from her bed. It was slightly smaller than Vash's Long Colt, but it was just as hefty. The Lighting Storm was perfect for her father, he was strong and was able to lift such heavy things around with ease. But she knew she would have slight difficulty using it for the weight of it.  
  
Standing up from the bed, Astra placed the silver gun and the black revolver into her pack. Then she turned away from the pack and headed for the saloon to join her friends. 


	11. Show me the Way

Gomen to everyone who has been waiting for this chapter! I was away for the past two days, but it was worth it (except for coming home to my house.) Well, here's the next chappy! And as usual, I do not own Trigun or its charrys, but I do own Astra and all of those charrys that aren't part of Trigun. Enjoy and love, peace and uber-kewl fanfics!!!  
  
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Chapter 11: Show Me the Way  
  
That day the group moved on to the next town, which was called Saturn, on their vehicles. It always made traveling a lot easier and they made it in a couple days. Once there, they got rooms for themselves and Astra went for a nap as the others explored the town.  
  
Actually, Astra was in her room, but she wasn't sleeping. She started a new drawing, in which she planned it to be of her and Vash. For some reason, she felt that this one is going to be her last drawings that she's ever going to make. She decided to keep this one secret, especially from Vash. She couldn't bring herself to believe that she could like the gunman. But nonetheless, Astra has fallen for him and she just didn't want to admit it. She kept her feelings about Vash to herself, knowing that he probably didn't want to start anything or have any feelings for her.  
  
This made her sad for a moment. They had a few things in common, such as a love for life, but a few things still kept them different. She felt that there is no one who would understand what she is going through. It was tough, having to get used to your powers and to learn control. Just the other day, she tapped Wolfwood on the shoulder to ask a question and she shocked him. She didn't touch anyone else for the rest of the trip, afraid that she would hurt someone.  
  
With a pencil in hand and a fresh piece of paper in front of her, she started to draw. In hopes that this drawing will be her best work and that maybe someone will understand what she is feeling at the moment.  
  
*****  
  
In the town, Vash separated himself from the group so he could be alone. He purchased a dozen donuts and stopped at café to eat his donuts and have something to drink.  
  
As he made is first bite into a donut, his thoughts drifted over to Astra. It seems that ever since she allowed him and Nick into her house, he felt that he had to be near her. She was like an angel that had came from nowhere to help them, without a worry as to who he was. It was rare to find someone who wouldn't run when you mention that you are a legendary outlaw or try to kill you for the big award on your head.  
  
He had to smile at her almost carefree like style. She reminded him of himself at times, without a care in the world. Also the way she reacted to the destruction of her hometown was quite surprising, not once she did she say anything about revenge. He could also tell that she was like a lost soul ever since that day.  
  
And there's only one thing for a lost soul to do, Vash thought to himself, to be found.  
  
He once was a lost soul, but Milly, Meryl and Wolfwood have found him and became his friends. But Astra was still lost and alone, and Vash decided that it would soon be time for her to be found, but he just couldn't bring himself to go tell her.  
  
He sighed as he finished his drink and picked up whatever were left of the donuts and headed for the inn.  
  
*****  
  
Astra finally put the painting away. She only got her face in her final form on the paper, her hair being spiky. This one was going to take longer than her other paintings that she has done. She yawned as she flopped herself on the bed and fell asleep.  
  
*****  
  
Vash entered the inn and headed upstairs. He stopped in front of the door that lead to Astra's room. He debated on whether or not to bother her; finally he gently opened the door to her room for a peek.  
  
Vash found her asleep on the bed. He thought of how much of an angel she looked when she slept. He took notice on how much her hair has changed slowly since the fight against her brother. Smiling at her softly, he closed the door and headed for his room, taking another bite out of his donut.  
  
*****  
  
Gavin entered the town, knowing that his sister and her group were in this town. He had a mission to fulfill and he was going to fulfill it. Entering the inn/saloon, he ordered a drink as he sat down at the bar.  
  
Behind him, Meryl, Milly and Nick entered the saloon. They wondered where Vash had gotten to, since they didn't see him in the streets. He had said that he wanted to be alone to think and Nick made a crack about him thinking. They sat at a table together and ordered their lunch.  
  
Gavin ignored the group as he took a sip out of his drink. He wondered what he could do to kill his sister. The he remembered seeing his sister's motorcycle and another vehicle that was her friends. A smirk came to his face, as he knew exactly what to do.  
  
*****  
  
That night the group had dinner together and Astra claimed that she was tired and wanted to go to bed. Instead of going to her room, Astra went onto the roof. She sat on the edge of the roof and she allowed her mind to wonder into the starry night sky. In her mind, a song that she likes surfaced. She hasn't listened to her music in a long time, but she still remembered the words to this song. The song was the same song that she listened to shortly after her parents died and it reminded her of how she felt then and recently, especially since she seen Polaris destroyed and people that she knew dead.  
  
"Every night I say a prayer, in the hopes that there's a heaven./ And everyday I'm more confused, as saints turn into sinners./ All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay./ And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I've lost my faith./  
  
Show me the way."*  
  
*****  
  
Vash came up from the saloon and was heading to bed. He took notice that Astra wasn't in her room. He knew the second place to look for her, the roof. Vash climbed the stairs and opened the door to the roof silently. He noticed that Astra was sitting at the edge, her bright blue/brown hair blowing gently in the wind. Still keeping silent, he walked over, but still kept his distance, and heard her singing something, but he couldn't make out the words. All he could tell was that it was different from the song that Rem liked.  
  
He waited until she was done singing to make himself noticed. "What song was that?"  
  
Astra's heart leapt as she looked over her shoulder. "How long were you there?"  
  
Vash shrugged as he came over and sat next to her. "Long enough to hear you sing a bit."  
  
Astra's cheeks turned bright pink. She was glad that the darkness of the night hid that. Then she answered his question. "The song I was singing is one that I like. I like it because it pertains to me at the moment."  
  
Vash nodded. "Oh, I see."  
  
A light, cool breeze made Astra shiver a bit. Vash took his coat off and placed it on Astra's shoulders. Astra looked at him and wrapped herself in the coat a bit. Then she looked up at the sky and smiled. The light from the moon caressed her face and showed an innocence that she rarely shows.  
  
Vash looked over at her and studied her profile. The smile on her face made look almost child-like. He smiled and looked at the sky to study the stars.  
  
Astra glanced at Vash from the corner of her eye. She blushed as she saw what Vash was wearing without his coat. It was a black, skin-tight, one- piece suit. Astra had to force her eyes back to the sky, blushing even more.  
  
*****  
  
In the street below, Gavin walked along. The only noise could be heard from the saloon made by rowdy drunkards. He saw his sister's motorcycle, dull from the dust of the sand. Gavin ran his hand along the handlebars and the seat. Brushing his hand against his pant leg, he shook his head.  
  
"Too bad such a good machine is about to get destroyed." Gavin placed his hands against the gas tank and used his firepower to allow the tank to explode.  
*= excerpt from "Show Me the Way" - song by the Styx 


	12. Inferno

*sweatdrops * Dun worry, Tara.I have still have all of the chapters up to chapter 18, hopefully I finished up to then. ^^;;; Oh well, here's the next chapter, another Gavin/Astra fight. Hope ya like it! I do not own Trigun, though I wish I did. But I do own all the chars that aren't from Trigun that are in this fic. Love, peace and fanfics!! Enjoy!!  
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Chapter 12: Inferno  
  
Astra and Vash jerked their heads from the starry sky to where they heard an explosion. Vash said in surprise, "What the hell?"  
  
Astra stood, automatically forcing her arms into the sleeves of Vash's coat. "Its close to the inn."  
  
"A little too close if you ask me."  
  
Astra peered over the edge. "It's the vehicles, they've exploded."  
  
"But how," he asked as Astra straightened.  
  
She locked eyes on him. "There's only one way, Gavin." Then she continued, "You go in and get everyone out, don't forget our packs, especially mine. I'll handle my brother."  
  
Vash nodded. "I'll be out to help you then."  
  
Nodding at Vash's retreating figure, she turned back to the fiery explosion. Then she leapt from the rooftop to the street below, just outside from the fire. Crouching low, still in Vash's coat, Astra stood and glared at the fire.  
  
"Where are you, Gavin," she demanded at the fire.  
  
"Try looking behind you, dear sister," Gavin replied.  
  
She whirled around and saw a fiery figure form in to her brother. Astra glared harder at her brother.  
  
Gavin smirked at his sister and he stepped towards her. With his hands, he brought them up and clapped them together.  
  
*****  
  
Vash ran down the stairs in a rush. He reached their rooms and he dive in each room and grabbed their packs. Some of the rooms were starting to become aflame. He dashed down the stairs, which was deserted of people. Everyone has left the saloon and was outside, watching the fire.  
  
He reached the doors to the outside and saw how bad it was. Astra was right; it was the vehicles that exploded. He ran over to the group and found Nick, Milly and Meryl.  
  
The trio looked at him, glad to see that he was still alive. Then they started asking questions.  
  
"Where were you?"  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"What happened to your coat?"  
  
"And where's Miss Astra?"  
  
Vash answered the questions in a bit of a rush. Then he started to work his way through the group of people, towards the edge of the fire.  
  
"Where are you going," Meryl asked.  
  
Vash shouted over his shoulder. "I'm going to go help Astra!"  
  
*****  
  
Before Astra knew what hit her, red-orange flames of the fire engulfed her. She yelped in surprise and she covered her face with her arms. Sweat instantly came to her brow and she squinted her eyes from the fire.  
  
She faced her palms outward and she created a lighting shield around her. Astra still kept her eyes squinting and her shield up as she straightened. With the lighting shield to protect her, Astra walked out of the fire with only minor burns and her hair singed. Astra took the shield down and wiped her forehead with the coat sleeve.  
  
"Awww, what's the matter, Astra," Gavin teased. "Too hot for you?"  
  
Astra glared at her brother. Lighting sparked in her eyes as Vash's jacket swirled around her.  
  
Gavin scanned his sister up and down and smirked. "What is that that you are wearing? Your boyfriend's trench coat?"  
  
Astra glared at him. She knew whom Gavin meant when he said "your boyfriend." "He's not my boyfriend."  
  
Still smirking, Gavin nodded his head. "Yeah, right."  
  
Without warning, he threw a fireball at Astra. She deflected it easily with a lighting ball. Gavin masked his surprise.  
  
"The only reason you survived the last fight against me was because of the owner of that trench coat you are wearing." Gavin explained. "But you won't survive this time. After all, you are at a disadvantage."  
  
*****  
  
Vash fought his way through the crowd, trying to find a way to Astra. He finally broke out to the crowd and walked around the edge of the fire to the other side. He finally saw Astra in his trench coat, which made him run harder. Vash yelled out, "Astra!!"  
  
Astra looked over and saw Vash and gasped. "No!"  
  
It was too late. Gavin swung his arm and aimed his gun at Vash. He shot twice, each bullet hitting both of Vash's shoulders. Then Gavin created and large fireball and threw it dead on at Vash.  
  
The fireball hit Vash square on the chest. Vash flew backwards and his head smashed against a stonewall. Each of his shoulders burned from the bullet wounds as blood leaked from them, soaking his black, skin-tight outfit. He slumped and slid down the wall, blacking out in the process.  
  
Astra allowed a small gasp escape as she ran over to Vash. She swung his jacket off of her and used it to smother the small flames the emerged. Leaving his jacket on him, she studied his face; it looked so peaceful at the moment. She was about to stand when pain exploded in the back of her left shoulder. Astra caught herself before falling forward. With lighting in her eyes and sparking at her hands, she turned around to glare at her brother.  
  
"What's the matter," Gavin taunted. "Is he dead?"  
  
"No." Astra growled. "But you'll be sorry you did that."  
  
She charged toward Gavin, turning into lighting in the process. Tackling Gavin, she gave him a good long shock. Astra leapt off him and reformed into herself again, breathing hard.  
  
Gavin was screaming in pain when he got tackled. Once she was off on him, Gavin rolled backwards and stood. He watched as his sister reformed.  
  
Astra stood there a moment, and then a wave of dizziness and weakness overcame her. She allowed herself to kneel on one knee; her breath was still slightly labored.  
  
Smirking, Gavin walked towards Astra. "Tsk, tsk, tsk.Astra, Astra, Astra." He was shaking his head. "You just made a huge mistake. You see, like I said, you are at a disadvantage. The fire I created from the inn is able to strengthen me. And you just wasted a good portion of your energy, which resulted in you becoming dizzy and weakened."  
  
She lifted her head and glared at her brother again. Her bangs on the right side fell in front of her eye. She breathed through her nose, looking at her brother as he walked towards her.  
  
Vash was only out from a moment, he groaned as he came to. He blinked his eyes and looked for Astra. Slowly, he used to wall behind him to stand and he grabbed the jacket as it started to slide down. He finally found where Astra was, kneeling with her brother walking towards her. Vash wanted to call out to Astra, but he didn't want to bring attention to himself. He leaned against the wall, contemplating on what to do.  
  
*****  
  
On the other side of the fire, the people from the inn and many others were trying to put the fire out. Milly, Meryl and Nick were helping. Nick looked at the fire when he heard multiple gunshots. Silently, he drifted away from the group and walked around the fire to see what was going on.  
  
When he reached the point where he could see everything, he stopped. Nick surveyed on what was happening. He saw Vash, leaning against a wall out of breath, and Astra who was still kneeling on one knee in front of her brother. Quickly and silently, Nick returned and told Milly and Meryl what was happening. They agreed to come to help Astra and Vash and ran to the other side of the fire.  
  
*****  
  
Astra was still glaring at her brother. Gavin looked down at her like she was the scum of the universe. Then he sneered. "Why don't you stand up, sister?"  
  
Slowly, Astra stood, ready to fight or shoot at her brother if necessary. She had to be careful as to what she did, and save her strength. Astra looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Vash was standing with the assistance of the wall behind him. Then she turned her full attention to her brother, who was aiming his gun at her.  
  
Mustering up whatever strength she had left, Astra ran the rest of the way towards her brother. In the mean time, Gavin shot and the bullet landed in the same shoulder that he shot at earlier. Her face grimaced in pain, but her pushed the pain down and kept going.  
  
She tackled him around the middle; her hands were blue with lighting. Astra shocked him again as both of them rolled over one another. Gavin stopped the roll by slamming Astra into the ground by using his strength and placing a hand on her throat.  
  
Her eyes widened as she brought her hands to her throat and tried to pry Gavin off of her. She tried to shock him, but it was useless. Astra had used almost all of her energy. Another wave of dizziness swept in and almost made her lose.  
  
Vash looked over at Astra and saw that Gavin was on top of her. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath of air, gathering his strength. Then he ran towards Gavin and Astra as fast as he could and tackled Gavin off of Astra. Gavin was able to throw Vash off of him and send another fireball that hit Vash. Vash skidded to a halt on the sand and darkness swept over him, knocking him out.  
  
Astra felt Gavin being tackled off of her. Her energy was so low that she couldn't move her head to see who had done it. But one name came to her mind as darkness crept in from the sides of her eyes. Vash.  
  
*****  
  
Nick, Milly and Meryl came into view of the battle to see Vash tackle Gavin off of Astra. After seeing Gavin hit Vash with a fireball, Meryl and Nick shot at Gavin multiple times as Gavin stood. They stopped when Gavin didn't go down.  
  
Gavin laughed wickedly at them. "Did you think you can defeat me?" He healed his fresh wounds in front of them. "Apparently my dear sister forgot to tell you about me. Pity, I guess you just learned the hard way."  
  
None of them spoke, instead, Milly shot twice at Gavin with her stun gun, hitting both times. Gavin flew back and skidded in the sand to a stop. He was unconscious from the double hit.  
  
Behind them, the fire was slowly becoming smaller. Nick, Milly and Meryl dashed over to Astra and Vash, who were both unconscious.  
  
"They need a doctor, and soon." Nick stated. "I'll carry Vash, Milly can you carry Astra?"  
  
Milly nodded. "Sure, I can carry Miss Astra."  
  
"Alright," Nick replied. "Meryl, you go ahead and find a doctor for these two."  
  
Meryl nodded and ran off to find a doctor. Nick picked up Vash and his jacket as Milly easily picked up Astra.  
  
Please, God. Let them live, Nick thought as he followed Milly away from Gavin. 


	13. Onward Ho!

*dances * I'm so glad you people like this fic! So here is the next chapter!! Typically...I do not own Trigun or its chars, only my chars! Well, love, peace and fanfiction!! Enjoy!!  
  
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Chapter 13: Onward ho!  
  
Gavin, Legato and Antan sat in a briefing room. They were waiting for Knives, who says that he needed to speak to them and make a few changes. They each kept each other's distances in the room.  
  
Then the door opened and Knives entered the room. His expression was stern. No one spoke for a moment.  
  
"With the remodeling that Pyro has done to the town, almost succeeding in his mission," Knives started, "a sand steamer has come with construction workers to help. Unfortunately, Pyro's sister and my brother still live."  
  
Antan was next to speak. "What do you suggest?"  
  
Knives glared at Gavin. "Let's ask Pyro, he should be able to have some suggestions."  
  
Gavin didn't look at any of them as he spoke, knowing this was to humiliate him. "We have to get rid of your brother, leaving my sister open to be able to harm with out him getting in the way."  
  
"But," Knives said in a questioning tone. "How do we do that?"  
  
Antan spoke then, her voice was emotionless. "The sand steamer, we can take care of him on the sand steamer."  
  
"But how can you be sure they will be on the sand steamer," Gavin asked.  
  
Knives glared at Gavin again for his stupidity. "It's obvious, you did destroy their vehicles. Why not take the sand steamer, it's faster than on foot."  
  
Gavin nodded. "Than I take it we get on the sand steamer also?"  
  
"Of course, how else are we going to do this?" Then Knives continued. "Oh, and after we do this, Legato is to go with Gavin and Antan is to come with me."  
  
Everyone nodded affirmatively.  
  
*****  
  
The sun was shining as the laughter of children rang in the streets. Construction workers and some townspeople were working on rebuilding a new inn. At the same time, Vash, Nick and Astra kept the children busy and away from the construction workers. Astra's last fight with her brother beat her up pretty badly with a few of her ribs broken and her arm wounded, but that didn't stop her from having fun.  
  
After a third game of dodge ball, Astra needed a rest. Vash was nice enough to buy her an ice cream for her to eat as she watched the others play ball. She smiled and laughed as Vash and Nick got double teamed by the other children.  
  
Milly and Meryl came over and sat on either side of Astra. Meryl sighed. "We got tickets and rooms on the sandsteamer for the next town. The town is called Siruis and it is 50 iles from here. They say that we should be there by morning."  
  
Astra nodded and took a bite out of her ice cream. "I can't wait."  
  
Vash fell over in front of them after being hit in the head by the ball. Astra fought laughter as she took another bite out of her ice cream.  
  
Then Astra turned to Meryl. "So when do we leave?"  
  
"At one 'o clock. So we have some time to buy some supplies before we leave."  
  
Astra nodded, then laughed as Vash got tackled by some of the children.  
  
*****  
  
The rest of that morning went quickly and before they even knew it, Vash, Astra and the others were boarding on the sandsteamer. They all managed to get their own rooms on the sandsteamer. Before they boarded on the sandsteamer, they had lunch and grabbed a few supplies.  
  
Once they got themselves settled in the sandsteamer, Meryl practically had to force Astra to stay in her room and rest. "Your wounds won't become any better if you stay on your feet and run around like a lunatic like SOMEONE I know," Meryl kept commenting.  
  
Astra started to take a nap as the sandsteamer started to head for Sirius. Vash, Meryl, Milly and Nick were on the deck, waving to the spectators as the sandsteamer pulled away. Once the town was out of sight, they retreated inside the sandsteamer to have a drink at the saloon.  
  
"Now Milly, don't drink too much, you know how you get when you do that," Meryl stated.  
  
Nick smiled. "I think most of us know that, Meryl."  
  
Meryl rolled her eyes. "Well, you weren't helping at all that last time that happened. You were encouraging it actually."  
  
Vash took a couple of sips of his beer. "That was an intersting night, I thought."  
  
With that comment, Meryl proceded to hit Vash upside the head. Vash rubbed his head as he finished off the rest of his beer. Then he stood. "I'm going to bed early for a change."  
  
Meryl muttered something incoherently to the extent of, "yeah, right."  
  
Vash walked out of the saloon area and proceeded to his room to shower and head to bed. 


	14. Overboard

^^;;;;; Sorry about that last chappy being short, this one looks to be just as short, but its also funny!!! I'm getting quite close to the end of this part of the fic. (yes, there are more after this, just have to get them from a certain SOMEONE. *briefly glances at Tara *) Oh yeah, I do not own Trigun or its charas. Enjoy the fic!  
  
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Chapter 14: Overboard  
  
There were four people outside a door. They carefully opened the door and entered the room. In the room, Vash was fast alseep on his bed. Two of the poeple grabbed everything that was Vash's while the other two carefully heafted him off the bed. Together they headed out to the deck of the sandsteamer. The two people that were carrying Vash tossed his sleeping form over the edge of the deck. The other two tossed his posessions over after him, then tossed a canteen full of water over. Then they all turned away from the edge of the deck and walked away.  
  
*****  
  
Astra bolted upright on her bed. Something's not right, she thought. She carefully climbed out of bed, feeling a slight ping of pain from her ribs that were taped. Having her pajamas on, which were a pair of baggy dark gray sweatpants and a black tank top, she slipped her only other pair of shoes on, a pair of dark brown sandals. She didn't need to turn her light on as she left her room into the lighted hallway.  
  
She walked down the hall and stopped in front of Vash's room. Gently, she knocked on the door. No one answered the door.  
  
Questioningly, Astra opened the door a bit so she could look in. She saw leave his bathroom with only a pair of gray sweatpants and no shirt. He was working on towel-drying his hair, which wasn't sticking upwards. Vash glanced at the door that was slightly opened.  
  
Astra gasped and shut the door. She stood next to the door, back pressed against the wall. Her cheeks grew warm from her blushing as she recalled what Vash looked like. The only main thing that she remembered was his many scars. She glanced at her wounded shoulder. That is what this is going to look like once it is all healed up.  
  
The door next to her opened and jumped with its sudden movement. Astra lifted her head to see Vash sticking his head out the door, towel drapped over his shoulders, around his neck.  
  
"Would you like to come in or do you prefer peeking through my door?"  
  
Her cheeks grew even warmer as she followed Vash into his room and sat down in a chair. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to check you out-I mean-on you."  
  
Vash casually smiled at Astra's slip of tongue. "You do know that if you blush anymore than you are now, your face would match my coat?"  
  
Astra gave a small smile as she covered her eyes with her hand.  
  
"Oh, and don't worry about it. You're not the first person who's done that."  
  
"That's a relief," Astra muttered.  
  
Vash continued. "And I wanted to talk to you, but you were alseep earlier, and I wasn't expecting you to come to me."  
  
"Well," Astra started. "I actually had a dream that some people were tossing you off the sandsteamer."  
  
Sitting on his bed, he gave her a quizzical look. "Interesting."  
  
"I know, but I've had them, or something like them before."  
  
Vash nodded slowly and decided to change the subject as he stood. "You thirsty or hungry?"  
  
"Both actually."  
  
Vash picked up a white, button-up shirt and put it on. Then he picked up a box and tossed it to her. She caught it easily, but it felt heavy.  
  
"Go ahead, open it." He nodded his head towards the box as he started to button up his shirt and found some money in his one trench coat pocket.  
  
Raising her one eyebrow, she opened the box and looked at what it was inside. She blinked a few times as she pulled out a dark blue, leather trench coat that looked a lot like Vash's red one. Astra stood, letting the box fall off her lap and unfolded the coat.  
  
Vash smiled at Astra as she scanned the trench coat. He slipped his boots on, but didn't fasten them. He was about to leave when Astra spoke.  
  
"You know, you didn't have to get me this."  
  
He turned and gave Astra a friendly smile. "Well, at least you won't have to worry about being cold the next time you go to look at the stars. I'll be right back."  
  
Vash left the room, leaving Astra alone.  
  
After Vash left, Astra smiled and turned her attention back to the coat. She swung it around her and put it on. It fit her perfectly. The leathery perfume from it she would get used to eventually.  
  
Vash came back with two beers and a box of dozen donuts. He gave one beer to Astra and opened his. She finally sat down in the same chair that she sat in earlier. Opening her beer, she took a sip out of it. Astra watched Vash take a sip out of his beer and eating a donut.  
  
Astra rolled her eyes. "You really like donuts, dun you?"  
  
Vash swallowed the part of the donut he took a bit out of. "What makes you say that?"  
  
She giggled. "No reason, donut boy."  
  
This time, Vash raised an eyebrow. "Donut boy?"  
  
Astra leaned back in her chair, leaning against the wall and laughed. "Yes, for your mini obsession of donuts."  
  
He sat down and kicked off his boots. "Ah, yes. I think that donuts should be one of the basic food groups."  
  
They both started laughing. Then Astra brought up something that Vash mentioned earlier.  
  
"So, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"  
  
"Uhh..." Vash hesitated a moment trying to think on what to say. "Actually, I forget what I wanted to talk to you about."  
  
Astra was taking a few gulps of her beer as Vash answered. Then she chuckled, the beer was starting to kick in. She stood, allowing her chair to fall on all fours. She finished off her beer. "In that case, I should get going. I need the rest and so do you. Night."  
  
She snagged a donut before leaving. Vash gave her a little wave. "Night."  
  
*****  
  
Knives, Gavin, Legato and Antan walked down the hall. They didn't bring any attention to themselves. Antan crouched down in front of Vash's door and slipped a small item under the door. It was a liquid that when mixed together would make the person who inhales it out cold. They waited as some smoke came out from under.  
  
"You know what to do," Knives growled as he opened the door.  
  
They entered the room and saw Vash fast asleep with an empty box on a table. Antan and Legato grabbed whatever was Vash's as Gavin and Knives lifted Vash off the bed. Carefully, they walked out of his room and headed for the deck. The suns have already set and the moons shone brightly in the night sky. Gavin and Knives lifted Vash's sleeping form over and tossed him over the edge of the deck. From behind, Legato and Antan tossed his belongs after him, even a canteen of water.  
  
"There," Gavin stated. "That'll take care of him. Now, I will do my part, Master, in destroying my sister." 


End file.
